Category: religion

change, family, gratitude, religion, writing

Leap: Ask, and Allow – More Life Advice from Author, Anne Lamott

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest member http://pinterest.com/dbockus/

Anne Lamott recently wrote a very personal piece in Reader’s Digest about the birth of her grandson to her teenage son and his girlfriend. Lamott is my favorite author because of her ability to be so raw, honest, and hilarious all in the same breath. Her voice is so unique and she doles out advice on writing and life with such generosity that sometimes I think she’s personally mentoring me through my own adventures on the page. This article about her grandson had all of her signature wit, charm, heartbreak, and hope.

Half way through the article she discusses the two slogans that kept her going in the anxious months leading up to the birth of her grandson – “Figure it out is not a good slogan” and “Ask, and allow – i.e., ask God, and allow grace in.” I love them both equally, though that second slogan rang so true for me at this moment.

A few days ago, I began reading the book The Wishing Year on recommendation from my friend, Katherine. The Wishing Year recounts a year in the life of a woman who consciously and passionately wishes for three changes in her life – a man to love, a house, and deep spiritual healing. The book also explore the science and art behind wishing and intention. It’s inspired me so much that I’m taking up its example in my own life. Why not wish, and then do in equal amounts.

Lamott’s advice dovetails perfectly with The Wishing Year. In many ways, she is saying the same thing, but with a very poignant nuance. We can wish, ask, and work toward a goal and a dream, but if we don’t allow grace in, if we don’t allow ourselves to then realize the opportunity that is then laid down in front of us, then the question and the wish will do no good.

If we ask nature, the Universe, God, to be on our side, to work with us, then we have to allow that work to happen. We have to be open to possibility, to a change in course, to a new way of thinking and being. And if we can go that, if we can allow change to enter our lives with grace, then we will truly begin to see the magic unfold in our lives and in the lives of those around us. We will realize our own potential, and it will be greater than we ever imagined.

art, creativity, religion, yoga

Beginning: The Spiritual Nature of Yoga

Christa Avampato
© Rassouli

“Being ‘spiritual’ simply means being willing to look into the nature of life, to ask questions and to wonder, and to listen. It also means seeing art everywhere.” ~ Quang Ho via Daily Good

I’m often asked by friends, family members, and students who are new to yoga whether or not they can do yoga and still maintain their own religious beliefs. They’ve heard about yoga being a spiritual practice and they’re concerned that they will walk into a yoga studio only to have a competing belief system pushed onto them.

My answer is always the same – yes, there is a spiritual side to a yoga practice and yes, you can still keep your own religious beliefs. Yoga respects and welcomes anyone and everyone, just as they are. With Quang Ho’s beautiful words in mind, yoga will ask us to check in, observe, ask questions and wait for the answers. There is no way to hurry the process of getting to know our true nature – it unfolds in its own time, on its own terms.

And if we can be both persistent and patient, we will find that our true nature is indeed a work of art.

religion, television

Beginning: 4 Reasons to Admire and Watch the New CBS Show Blue Bloods

Christa Avampato

With all of the rainy weather we had after all of the snow we had, I got the opportunity to take in some new shows this Winter / early Spring. One of the shows that really struck me as a stand out is Blue Bloods, a unique law enforcement / family drama starring Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan,Will Estes and Len Cariou. In addition to the fine acting, interesting plot twists, and complex relationships, the show takes risks that are both admirable and thought-provoking.

Strong male characters deeply invested in the their families
Len Cariou plays the grandfather of the Reagan family and the retired Police Commissioner. Tom Selleck is his son and the current Commissioner who carries himself with grace and dignity, both in his role as Commissioner and as the head of the family who deeply loves his children and grandchildren. Both of their wives have passed, leaving them as widowers to care for their family. Donnie Walhberg plays a veteran-turned-detective and family man, equally passionate about both of these roles. It’s refreshing and inspiring to see men taking such a nurturing role in their families that in no way compromises their serious commitments to their careers. The writers could have taken an easier route and written out-of-balance male characters who were so entrenched in their jobs that their family lives suffered. Instead, they wanted their male characters to be good role models for how difficult and how gratifying it is to have balance.

Religion is not taboo
The family is deeply Catholic. Religion is too often a taboo subject, in the world and on the screen. The show makes a decided decision to talk about religion and illustrate how people can reconcile very old traditions with a very modern world. It provides an interesting depth of character and storyline.

4 generations explore the changing times of law enforcement
Law enforcement in New York City is a complicated, multi-limb system. Blue Bloods gives us the opportunity to see a single case and the whole system from a variety of angles, within the police force and from the DA’s office, through the eyes of someone retired from the force, someone who now heads the force, a seasoned detective, a newly-minted officer, and a top-notch attorney. Their opinions and roles often put them in conflict professionally, which forces reconciliation personally around the dinner table. We get the chance to see just how difficult it is to secure justice in this city, and show up every day to try again no matter what happened in the last case. I also enjoy the dimension of the youngest generation who may likely enter careers in public service as adults due to the influence of their family.

A different side of New York City
New Yorkers take pride in knowing their city. Staten Island is the borough people are most unfamiliar with, myself included. I’ve never even set foot on Staten Island. The Reagan family lives there in a beautiful old home, reminding me that there is always another side to New York that I have yet to explore.

This season has two more episodes you can catch (thanks to Kelly for that info and comment!) and some of the previous shows are on the CBS site. I’m sure the full season will soon hit Netflix and Hulu. When it does, you’ll want to make sure to catch up before next Fall. The show airs on Friday nights at 10pm EST / 9pm Central on CBS.

care, community, relationships, religion

Beginning: Why and How to Start Understanding the Muslim World

Christa Avampato

From http://truereligiondebate.wordpress.com
Last week I had the great good fortune to see the documentary Koran by Heart at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film tracks the lives of several young people who are contestants in “the world’s preeminent Koran recitation competition in Cairo, where Muslim children come from across the globe to perform in front of a panel of prominent judges. Contestants as young as 7 years old are ranked against kids more than twice their age for both their comprehensive memorization of the 600-page text as well as their improvised melodies.” It is a stunning feat to witness. There is one more screening today at the festival – details here.

The film got me thinking about how little I know about the Muslim world, despite my efforts to consume news until my brain can’t hold any more information. It’s so complex with so many layers. Even classifying it as “the Muslim World” is a disservice. The diversity among Muslims is so vast and spans across so many cultures, languages, nations, and factions. I was reminded of Dr. Lu’s saying that “you can’t understand the Eastern world with a Western mind.” The same is true of understanding Islam. It requires us to shrug off our biases and prejudices, and see the religion and its believers in their own light.

Why? Can’t we pretend that our heads of state will take care of this issue? Can’t we go on just living our U.S. focused lives without delving in to this other complicated part of the world that seems incomprehensible to us at first blush? Sure. You could absolutely pretend it’s not there. However, the world of Islam is increasingly becoming tied to our own national security, indeed our global security as a whole. There are as many as 7 million Muslims living in the U.S., and the number is growing – particularly in urban areas. 1.2 billion people around the world practice Islam. That’s a big, big number.

They are a voice in our society and that voice deserves recognition and understanding, just like yours and just like mine. Additionally, the religion at its core is a beautiful way of living. Too often we associate it with extremism and terrorism. It’s so unfortunate. At its heart, it prescribes a peaceful, harmonious existence and has much to teach us whether we follow its belief or not. Understanding the perspective of another always, always helps create a better world, and isn’t that what we’re all after?

But how? How does a well-intentioned, curious, Western mind begin to understand Islam and its place in the world? I wondered, too, and put this list of resources together in the hopes that it may begin to tear down the wall that for too long has existed between us. I hope you find these resources helpful.

4 Resources to Begin Learning About Islam
1.) Leap of Faith by Queen Noor of Jordan

2.) A 5 minute video that introduces Islam to non-Muslims

3.) Website dedicated to introducing the beliefs of Islam to non-Muslims

4.) The book Introduction to Islam by Frederick Mathewson Denny

choices, creativity, luck, nature, religion

Beginning: The Long Shot of Life

Christa Avampato

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mathoov/2429733088/
While in Austin, I started reading the book, The Case for a Creator. My brother-in-law lent it to me after we watched the lunar eclipse together in December. Lee Strobel, the author, starts the book as a devout atheist. He speaks to scientists and researchers to examine their views on the origins of life. Though they have divergent views, there is one thing that they all agree on – the odds of life being created in its first instant were a case against all odds. The numerous conditions that had to come together to give life its first breath is nothing short of a miracle. Life, as we know it, was a long shot from the very beginning.

I thought about this idea over the weekend when Kira Campo, a Twitter friend of mine and Founder of The Creative Practice, were talking about creative projects we’re both pursuing. She asked if I thought they were a long shot. I absolutely think they’re a long shot, just like everything in life. As Brian so often tells me, “We get what we settle for.”

If nature and life itself have anything to teach us it’s that we have to believe that the long shot is possible. Somehow the necessary elements conspire and catapult us into a life we imagine. The turning points aren’t always obvious and often entirely unplanned. If we live long enough and look back on the moment that really make our lives what they are, we realize just how coincidental and synchronous life really is. Go for the long shot that you really want – it’s just as likely to come to fruition as any other possibility.

Christmas, faith, religion

Step 360: My Christmas Story

Christa Avampato

My faith has morphed over the years. I was raised Catholic, thought for a bit about being a Unitarian and a Buddhist, and then through yoga thought that Hinduism may be a possibility. Finally, I happily settled on being interested in religion and calling myself spiritual without affiliation.

So it came as quite a surprise that Christmas Eve found me in a Methodist Church pondering my faith again. I went with my family to the First United Methodist Church of Orlando. I really went because I wanted to support my sister; she’s on staff there and runs all of the communications for the Church. She and my brother-in-law were married in that church and both of my nieces were baptized there. Plus, I love Christmas carols, of which there are many at the family service.

And then a very odd thing happened. The Head Pastor gave a sermon about people unlikely to call themselves religious. He talked about Joseph and his very serious consideration of leaving behind his family and his faith. After further contemplation, he felt something greater than himself asking him to stay, to persevere, to not give up. He talked about people who have considered giving up on their faith, people who doubt and question, people who feel like they don’t really belong to any affiliation. The remarkable thing is that he didn’t talk down to those people; he didn’t criticize them. Quite the opposite – he invited them in. In a moment of silence he asked us to bow our heads, close our eyes, and raise our hands if anyone felt like they might belong to one of those groups, and would like the congregation to pray for them.

I found that the idea of staying, just sticking around to see how it goes, made my eyes water, and I raised my hand. I did need the prayers he so generously offered. On Christmas Eve I felt a little lost, a little out-of-place, but still moved to further explore my faith, and even considering that spiritual without affiliation may not be enough for me anymore. And even though I felt lost, I also felt that I was in exactly the right place, as if that Pastor, and maybe even the Universe, knew what I needed far better than I did.

We closed the service by lighting candles and walking together out of the church singing Silent Night. I was surprised how warm the light of my candle felt, alarmingly warm. I felt a little message in that flame. If I stayed, maybe some answers would show up, answers that in all of my exploring I have not yet been able to find. Rather than dashing here, there, and everywhere, maybe I just needed to be still, and wait, and listen.

That’s my Christmas story this year. How did it go for you?

The image above makes me remember how much can be found through faith. Find it here.

faith, nature, religion, science, season

Step 355: Faith and the Total Lunar Eclipse

Christa Avampato

This morning there was a total lunar eclipse coinciding with the Winter Solstice – it ended about an hour ago. The next time that will happen will be in 2096. My brother-in-law, Phineas, and I went out to see the beginning of it. I won’t be around to see the next one. My brother-in-law has a shot at the next viewing. We both figured it was worth the sacrifice of sleep to bear witness.

Astronomers must be the happiest people on Earth, the ones most at peace because any everyday annoyance actually doesn’t matter. 100 years in the life of the universe isn’t even equivalent to the blink of an eye. It’s practically insignificant. Every disappointment, sadness, loss, betrayal. None of it is really worth being that upset over when we consider that the night sky that we’re looking at actually happened a minimum of 100 years ago – the stars are that far away from us. It’s mind-blowing. What we were looking at last night, for the most part, doesn’t even exist anymore. When we gaze up at the starts we are staring centuries back into the past. It’s mind-blowing.

And it makes me think that to be in the presence of something so awesome there must be more out there. It just couldn’t all be placed this way by luck. Beauty of that magnitude, concepts that stretch out minds and move our hearts so much, can’t be generated solely by chance. I looked up at the Earth’s shadow crossing the moon so perfectly, feeling our insignificance and greatness all at once. And all I could think was that there must be some reason, and that we must have faith.

The image above depicts the beginning of a total lunar eclipse and can be found here.

art, change, choices, faith, fear, politics, relationships, religion, theatre

Step 287: Review of the Off-Broadway Show, Freud’s Last Session

Christa Avampato

In 1998, I saw the play Picasso at the Lapin Agile in San Francisco. I remember being completely riveted watching the fictional meeting of two of the most inspiring characters of all time, Einstein and Picasso. This construct for a play appealed to me so much that I still routinely think about that show 12 years later. It was at times touching and sad, joyful and hopeful. Full of lively, passionate debate and intense discussion about timeless social issues, I always felt it would be hard for a play to match Steve Martin’s brilliance.

Lucky for us Mark St. Germain has succeeded in building a script that’s even more powerful and thought-provoking than Martin’s – Freud’s Last Session, now playing off-Broadway at The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater at the West Side YMCA. Freud’s Last Session showcases the possibly factual meeting between a young C.S. Lewis, a devout Christian and the gifted author who would go on to write The Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters, and Sigmund Freud, a life-long atheist, consummate intellectual, and founding figure of psychoanalysis, who is at the very end of his life and career, dying of oral cancer. Set in London on September 3, 1939, the invasion of Poland by the Nazis serves as the political backdrop of their meeting.

The piece made me laugh out loud one moment, and tug at my deepest convictions the next. The dialogue is so sharp and the acting by Martin Rayner (Freud) and Mark H. Dold (Lewis) so penetrating that the 75-minute show flew by, too quickly in my opinion. I wanted more of the debate and the history. I found myself rooting for their relationship, and wanting it to go on, in spite of knowing that 20 days later Freud would engage his long-time friend and physician to end his battle with cancer.

The show touches upon an incredibly diverse set of themes: religion first and foremost, war, death, sexuality, fear, faith, love, memory, humor, and change. While this list of topics seems overwhelming, they are in the very capable hands and words of St. Germain, who expertly weaves them together in such a seamless way that I found myself completely wrapped up in the story as if it were my own. The language he uses is so vivid and the mannerisms of the actors are so authentic that I truly felt I was peering into a window on history. This play is the most rare form of theatrical work – a perfect script. Every single word precisely and beautifully chosen. The set and lighting designs are so realistic that I felt transported across space and time to Freud’s London study to witness this single, emotional meeting.

This show has a special, very personal meaning for me because my father was a Freudian psychologist. He passed away when I was a teenager, long before I ever had the opportunity to have a conversation with him as Lewis may have had with Freud. I didn’t get the opportunity to understand his contradictions and complexities, though that may have been for the best. At the end of his life, he was in a great deal of pain physically and emotionally, as Freud was. Through the dialogue of Freud’s Last Session, I was able to put together some more pieces about my father’s personality, as if I had actually been placed there in that seat for a very specific reason – to help me get a little bit closer to understanding my childhood. My thanks to Mark St. Germain for this amazing gift; he has inspired me to dig deeper and learn more about Freud and Lewis. I’m confident that there are more answers there, waiting for me to discover them. And that is perhaps the greatest lesson of the show – that self-discovery is a journey that never ends and yet must be pursued. As he so adeptly has Lewis say, “The real struggle is to keep trying.”

Freud’s Last Session runs through November 28th at The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater. Don’t miss it.

Image above depicts Mark H. Dold and Martin Rayner as Lewis and Freud, respectively.

community, free, justice, New York City, religion

Step 254: A Vigil for 9/11 and Religious Freedom

Christa Avampato

“Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” ~ U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis

Last night I went with my friend, Sara, to a vigil for religious freedom and to commemorate the anniversary of 9/11. I had never seen the sky lights that are lit up to pay homage to the Towers, 2 giant beams that shoot up from the base of where the buildings once stood clear into the sky for as far as the eye can see. Hundreds of people gathered just one block away at Park and Church, holding candles, listening to speeches by religious leaders, and talking with friends. Just around the corner stood the site that will become the Islamic Community Center.

To be honest, the speeches weren’t moving, sometimes inaudible, and the traffic continued to run along Church Street throughout the vigil. What was moving was to hear the message, from the speakers and attendees beside us, that no neighborhood in this country should ever be off-limits to anyone. It sounds like such a simple idea and yet it has caused such controversy in New York and around the country. The argument “how could THOSE people be so insensitive?” has circulated around the Islamic Community Center in newspapers, TV broadcasts, and on the streets on U.S. cities. My response is THOSE people didn’t have anything to do with 9/11. Muslim lives were lost when those Towers fell, too; Muslims the world over are mourning today and everyday just like non-Muslims. If anything that ground on Vesey Street, and anywhere else in this world for that matter, belongs to the global community. We all have a right to be wherever it is we want to be.

What toppled those Towers so tragically 9 years ago today was not Islam or people living in Middle Eastern countries. It wasn’t hatred for Americans, nor was it anger in our foreign policies. What destroyed those Towers and continues to threaten world security is intolerance. By protesting the Islamic Community Center at 51 Park Place, intolerance grows and strengthens. Intolerance, the very idea that has caused our nation and particularly New York City, so much heartache is exactly what the protesters to the Islamic Community Center are propagating. It’s akin to poisoning ourselves with the very thing that others used to harm us.

It was encouraging to be among the group gathered for the vigil last night, sharing candle light and a common belief in true freedom for all people everywhere. I hope that the light we created there goes at least part of the way toward rooting out intolerance and burying it once and for all.

books, diet, dreams, entertainment, film, food, forgiveness, love, movie, relationships, religion, simplicity

Step 225: The Best Way to Eat Pray Love

Christa Avampato

“In a world of disorder and disaster and fraud, sometimes only beauty can be trusted. Pleasure cannot be bargained down.” ~ Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love

The long-anticipated movie of a woman traveling through the world looking for delicious food, peace of mind, and love opens in theaters nationwide today. Last week I walked by a swanky home store advertising “get your Eat Pray Love scented candles here” in its windows. Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat Pray Love, runs an importing business with her new husband. That may explain the commercialization of the film. Still, the merchandising seems like an odd play destined for a less-than-stellar market performance, no matter how high the box office ratings are.

The sad truth is that Eat Pray Love is a well-written book, with lyrical language, rich imagery, and some important insights that, if put to good use, could actually increase people’s happiness. The problem is that it’s been so hyped that most consumers are sick to death of it. And the onslaught of book-related merchandise doesn’t help matters any.

Here’s my suggestion: don’t go to the movie at all. I’m not even sure I’d suggest you read the book at this point. You know how the story goes so it sort of takes the fun out of it. Here’s how you can really live the message of finding your own path, the issue at the heart of the story:

1.) Eat well and enjoy it. Stop mindlessly munching on whatever is within arms reach, enjoy your food with good company, and rather than beating the heck out of yourself for the calories, just exercise more

2.) Pray in your own way. I’m a spiritual person, meaning that the light that is within me honors the light that is within you. Be good to your family, your friends, and your neighbors. Stop asking what the world needs you to do, and just concentrate on doing what brings you joy. That’s where the real goodness is. Recognize that there’s something beyond the here and now, and that we are all intricately and beautifully connected. Honor that connection through service, which is at its essence a divine act.

3.) Love. Forget your past failures in love. Forget the heartache and the tears and the anger and the screwed up behaviors of people who hurt you. Get it all out in the open, let it go, and move on. There’s nothing worse that ruining our next relationship by imbuing it with the problems of the last one. I know it’s hard. I’ve had my heart broken in a million pieces more times than I can count. I’ve got a good family and good friends who help me pick up the pieces and put them back together, and I’m a better person for it, even though it was hell to go through in the first place. Keep loving. The alternative is what causes this world to be such a rough place to live – we shouldn’t make it any worse by carting around our disappointments from one relationship to the next.

And if you really want to know what Elizabeth Gilbert and her journey are all about, watch her TED talk on creativity. In 18 minutes it will inspire you to do something extraordinary, and the world could use a little more of that these days.

The image above depicts Julia Roberts as Elizabeth Gilbert in the movie Eat Pray Love, opening today nationwide. I like the sunflowers.